UAE. Spanish player Garbine Muguruza won her first Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday, beating unseeded Barbora Krejcikova in the final of the prestigious tournament. The annual WTA Tour event attracts strong international viewership, helping to build Dubai Duty Free’s profile.
“We congratulate Garbine Muguruza on her victory in what is her seventh successive appearance here in the main draw,” said Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin. “She has kept us entertained throughout the week with her magnificent performances and her success is richly deserved.
“Barbora Krejcikova has now competed in two finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after finishing as runner-up in the doubles in 2020, and she clearly has the ability to go one step further and claim a title here in the years ahead. We look forward to welcoming both Garbine Muguruza and Barbora Krejcikova back to Dubai in 2022.
“As well as congratulating our two singles players on such a successful week, we acknowledge the fine doubles victory of Alexa Guarachi and Darija Jurak over Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang.”
Muguruza said: “I didn’t have a feel for her. We never practised together, we never played before. I had to work so hard in the first set. The difference was one point and I’m happy it went my way. I think she played great. She’s a very talented player, good hands, good baseline game and I’m happy I was stronger today.”
Krejcikova said: “It was pretty close. I was playing really well. I was playing such a close match with such a champion. I’ve learned so much and gained so much experience from this whole week and it motivates me to go and work harder.”
“Garbine Muguruza is a worthy champion here in Dubai, the 14th woman to claim the title,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “This past week she often needed to demonstrate the fighting qualities that have taken her to Grand Slam titles in Paris and at Wimbledon and to number one in the world, and she rose magnificently to the challenge.
“Her opponent has also been a thrill to watch and it is clear that Barbora Krejcikova will again be a strong contender for the title in the years ahead.”
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continues until 20 March with the men’s ATP500 event headed by reigning US Open champion and world number four Dominic Thiem. He will be in competition for the title against 2021 Rotterdam champion and world number eight Andrey Rublev, 2020 US Open quarter-finalist Denis Shapovalov, 2018 Dubai champion Roberto Bautista Agut, 2021 Montpellier winner David Goffin and 2020 US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
